Modernity as a form of individual and social identity is linked here to the Triangular Trade, the progenitor of global commerce that flourished in the 17th and 18th century and brought some 12 million slaves to the New World. Notes from the Periphery presents three series of photographs, each done in a place linked to the Triangular Trade, and each focusing on an attribute of moderinty that relates to our modern conception of identity.

In the hills overlooking Port-of-Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, is the
shantytown of Laventille, first populated by runaway slaves, and later by outlaws and
squatters. In contrast to the grid of the colonial capital, Laventille's vernacular
architecture retains a strong African character.